We have all heard stories of the headache and nightmare identity theft can turn into.

Weeks, months, even years of rebuilding damage perpetrated by a fraudster in your name. Too often, victims are left to trying to find an answer to this simple question: How did this happen?

The fact is there are many ways it can happen, and while we as individuals take steps to make it harder, some banks have found a way to make it even easier.

I am talking about mobile deposit capture. It’s the next killer app, a capability touted by major U.S. financial institutions like Chase, USAA and PayPal as the next level of “cool” in your banking experience.

But they fail to mention that this level of cool technology puts your finances and identity at significant risk.

How? Why? The how is a function of technology outpacing all of us. The why is simply because a loophole in regulations means they can.

Take a second to look at the information on a standard personal check. You should notice a large amount of personal information – your name, spouse’s name, address, bank name, bank routing and bank account number. With all that personal information listed, one could easily see how just one dishonest person with just one check can do some serious financial and identity damage.

To put this in perspective, think about the last check you wrote to your grandson or neighbor. When you hand your check over to him or her, you assume he or she is going to deposit the physical check at the bank. When your grandson or neighbor makes the deposit, the responsibility for securing the physical check and the personal information on it is then transferred to the bank where it is deposited.

But mobile deposit capture applications allow your grandson or neighbor to make that deposit from anywhere, without handing over the physical check to the bank. By not handing over the check, the responsibility to protect that physical paper document doesn’t transfer to the bank. Per regulation, the bank is only required to keep the “electronic version” of that check secure – and they do that well.

So what becomes of your physical check with all that sensitive information on it? Well this is the question banks offering mobile deposit capture hope you don’t ask – because if you do, you won’t like their answer. They likely will tell you that they inform their customer – as part of the terms and conditions for the application (the long scrolling block of legalese we all race through to click “I ACCEPT”) – that the person to whom you gave the check is responsible for securing it after making a mobile deposit, and disposing of it according to regulation.

But this is an idle threat, because the bank has no way of knowing if the customer disposes of that paper check properly – or if they just absentmindedly leave it on the table at Starbucks. And frankly, the bank may not really care, either.

The bank’s responsibility begins and ends with what is in their possession; if they don’t have it, then they aren’t responsible for it. Besides, you may not even be their customer, so what happens to you doesn’t matter. And if the identity thief is any good, you will have a hard time tracing it back to the bank anyways.

Better, for now, to play it safe and take your check to the bank.

Asaad A. Faquir

Compliance Officer, Haverhill Bank

Haverhill, MA